I formatted, partitioned, try to let the drives 12 hours left on power only (crucial support told me that the GC will work this way) and used the tool "FreeSpaceCleaner.exe" to write the SSD with 0's.

Nothing! Only defective recordings. The other SSDs work, but for how long? With a benchmarktool i become stable values about 400GBs/200GBs (read/write).

I think it's wired because there are only four SSDs in the BMD list around 500GB, and I relied on it that it has been tested. SSDs are not cheap ;-( Interesting is that the Samsung 830er SSD was removed from this list!

What should I try?

Thank youFranz

Last edited by 12345franz on Thu Mar 21, 2013 4:12 pm, edited 4 times in total.

SSDs which are qualified for RAW CinemaDNG video capture will also work well for compressed video capture. There are some SSDs which we have tested and found to drop frames when capturing RAW CinemaDNG video. However, they still work well when capturing compressed video.

The following SSDs are recommended for RAW CinemaDNG capture or compressed video capture:

No Samsung on it And only two with 512GB - one not working for me and the other one "discontinued"

For what it's worth, I have read that the 480GB SSDs actually have 512GB in the device but set aside at least 6% of the space for internal disk management activities. This is a good thing. I suppose you can fill a 512GB SSD with more data but there may be performance issues at some point since you are using all available cells. The 480GB style has some breathing room and I suspect is a more sustainable performer.

In the post viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5803 other users have problems with this SSD. Please verify what firmware is working so that we can use the drives. The "009" firmware in the list doesn't exist!!! Firmware from crucial has 4 letters and if you mean 0009, this firmware is very bad because the SSD will stop working after 5000 hours.

Please go on this issue because many users are waiting for a solution.

Unfortunately I have also experienced dropped frames while recording RAW on a Crucial M4 512GB. The firmware is 000F. 000f is however a later firmware version than 009 which is 'Certified' on the Blackmagic website.

In an effort to stop the frame dropping problem, I have tried to update the firmware to REV 040H, however so far this has not worked. It seems like this update process is designed for people using the SSD drive inside a computer, not connected externally, at least not via Thunderbolt. I might be wrong about this, I am waiting to here from Crucial technical support.

If anyone has been able to update the firmware on their Crucial M4 512GB SSDs, using a MacBook Pro, with the SSD connected via Thunderbolt, please do a write up of how you got it to work.

This is what I did, and as far as I got with it;

I am connecting the SSD via Thunderbolt using a Seagate GoFlex. To update the firmware of the SSD, after downloading the update file (an ISO Image) from the Crucial website, http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx?source= - this ISO image needs to be burnt to CD (it only works for me if this is done using the Disk Utility) luckily I have an external CD/DVD play, a MacBook Pro Retina doesn't have an internal one, and I could get a USB thumb drive to work. All other drives etc. should be disconnected from the computer. The computer needs to be restarted and on the chime hold down the option key to get the CD drive to display as a boot drive, it appears titled 'Windows'. I selected this however the program started and then seemed to hang. See attached image.

I have sent this information to Crucial, hopefully there is an easier way to update the firmware on these SSDs.

Otherwise I too will move on and try Sandisk Extreme 480GB drives. This will be a shame after investing in two Crucial M4 512GB SSDs, based on Blackmagic Certification.

It would be great if Blackmagic would further test the Crucial M4 512GB SSDs for recording RAW, and in some way help solve the problem of frames dropping, or discontinue supporting it as Certified drive.

Yes, the method you used seems to be the only way to update the Firmware on the Crucial M4 512GB SSDs. However it would also seem from your experience that even the Crucial M4 512GB SSDs with the REV 040H update still have problems with dropping frames. I am hoping that there is a slim chance that Mac OS Extended (Journaled) formatted Crucial M4 512GB SSDs with the latest update might work properly.

Hello Stefan,

Thank you for contacting Crucial. I do apologize for this inconvenience but at this time we do not offer a way to update the firmware on an SSD externally, you'll need to either install it into the system or use it in another computer entirely to perform the update.

If you have further questions, please visit the Crucial Community at http://www.crucial.com/help. For sales questions, try our online chat service at http://www.crucial.com/company/contacts.aspx. Our hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Mountain Time). At Crucial, we are committed to providing high-quality products and reliable service and support.

I have experienced dropped frames with the Crucial M4 512GB in both RAW and ProRes recordings. I purchased the SSD in anticipation of receiving the camera so I'm much beyond the ability to return it.

So now I think I must purchase a new SSD. There aren't any other 512GB on the recommended list. A lot of users are recommending the Sandisk Extreme 480GB (SDSSDX-480G-G25). That's the one I'll get next. The Sandisk is smaller by 32 GB which will cut into the recording time available in RAW by about 3.5 minutes if my calculations are correct:

I was able to return both my Crucial M4s today just 2 days shy of the 30 day limit. WHEW...$600 I didn't have to eat!!! I will stick to the Sandisk Extreme 480s from now on. My understanding is that they are actually 512s, limited to 480 to ensure integrity. Now if I can just figure out the Rode Videomic dilemma.

GripworksCo wrote:I was able to return both my Crucial M4s today just 2 days shy of the 30 day limit. WHEW...$600 I didn't have to eat!!! I will stick to the Sandisk Extreme 480s from now on. My understanding is that they are actually 512s, limited to 480 to ensure integrity. Now if I can just figure out the Rode Videomic dilemma.

I wish I had the same luxury... I shot lots of tests with my BMCC and the m4 512 within the first 30 days but unfortunately didn't test shooting 30+ minute takes in pro res mode until the situation arose for a project. I just ordered the sandisk 480 as well. Ce'st la vie... I know BMD won't offer any financial compensation but a simple apology would be nice.

yeh, everyone should be aware that the red "REC" will flash if the camera detects dropped frames in the recording. Watch it like a hawk! It was flashing for me with a Crucial M4 512GB in both RAW and ProRes HQ Film modes. I think the ProRes stuff I shot is salvageable but not the RAW recordings.

At bare minimum, I think that BMD should remove this SSD from their recommended list.

I use some new SanDisk Extreme 480GB SSDs - around six complete RAW cycles with 30fps NO DROPPED FRAMES! Files deleted with an icy box USB3.0 dock. Only with the normal Win7 trash... (The three Crucial SSDs started to drop frames from the secound cycle.)

Can anyone verify that upgrading these drives to the firmware version recommended by Blackmagic solves the dropped frames problem? So far, I've been unable to get upgrade the firmware on my Crucial M4 512GB on a MacBook Pro. I am connecting the drive to the laptop via USB3 adapter and the firmware updater doesn't recognize the drive in this scenario, as far as I can tell.

How is this thread marked as "solved" when clearly there are a ton of us who invested in the Crucial M4 512 and it doesn't work unless we have an much older firmware, which nobody seems to know how to downgrade to? When I read the title....I thought I was going to find a solution to this issue.

Bad new. I tried the file you posted and it goes well until is says that it skipped the firmware update since the current firmware is newer. FYI. I have 000F firmware from the factory. So this method does NOT work. Any other ideas?

I am so aggravated as I have a 256GB version of this drive with the same firmware and figure that it is not gonna work either. $600+ that I cannot use with the camera. It keeps getting better. Love the camera. The workarounds and issues are really dampening my unbridled enthusiasm.

Graham Spice wrote:I don't understand why BMD changed their tune on this SSD and only supported the 009 firmware if it is a) difficult to update to and, b) if it still doesn't work!

I'm not interested in messing around with it, I just want it to work. If it will not, I will buy a new 480GB SSD from Sandisk (SDSSDX-480G-G25)

Well, in all fairness, Crucial changed something about how the SSD handles the internal reading an writing. Often times this means there is added latency as the device itself tried to manage the data and created overhead, slowing the drive down temporarily. So the drive did work with the BMCC until Crucial changed the way the SSD behaves with the newer updates.

I cannot seem to be able to flash my M4 backwards to 009. In all fairness, the actual message does not actually say anything about being a newer firmware as I first posted. It just says this drive cannot be upgraded and will be skipped.

So I ask again.....can anyone actually confirm the ability to flash these drives backwards to a lower firmware version?